Instead of expanding into new markets in order to take advantage of better conditions available through wider regional synergies, the European wind power industry focuses its development on off-shore wind potentials. Even if not applicable to every EU country, this option enables wind developers to overcome most limitations hampering the expansion of wind power in Europe. Since this industry has thrived on subsidized premium prices paid for wind generated electricity available in Europe, the costly off-shore wind option reinforces further the justifications for sustaining higher prices. E-112 Wind Turbine tower segment of 180 tons (Enercon) The concept of utilizing the Saharan Trade Wind resource could provide an ideal development setting at a critical time for the wind energy industry to expand most comprehensively into developing countries. The saturation of electric grids to further wind power developments and the levels of incertitude due to recent drops of wind turbine orders coming from Germany and Spain that are progressively shifting to the US and Asian markets tend to confirm these forecasts. As it seem to spread geographically ever closer, the wind power industrial growth that was initiated in Denmark, Germany and subsequently in Spain, demonstrated the importance that the trade wind resource can have in supporting an integrated economic development of the region. In the Sahara desert coastline for instance, large wind power generation facilities could provide ideal grounds for the wind industry to expand more sustainably into the developing wold by reinforcing thereby local industrial capacities.
Indeed, the Spanish wind energy industry demonstrated that the transfer of manufacturing facilities from Germany and Denmark enabled significant cost reductions on domestically installed wind power capacities. Building upon such experience, the price of wind power generated in exceptionally good wind regions through dedicated machines, manufactured and erected locally at lower labor costs are bound to be more competitive. The integration of wind energy in such economical setting should cover the transfer of industrial capacities and improve significantly the sustainable development perspectives of the region. Furthermore, these would enhance local access to electricity services and provide economic benefits that are likely to enhance the social stability of a rather desolate area, contributing thereby to the combined energy security of Europe and its North African neighbors. Since wind turbines represent over 80% of the investments in the Sahara Wind Project (20% remaining for the HVDC line), the development of lower-cost dedicated wind turbines could have a considerable financial impact on the economics of the entire Project, improving its competitiveness. A Project the size of Sahara Wind's, currently duplicated in China's inner Mongolia region, is likely to set a model and enable local manufacturing of wind turbine parts and components to address the challenging electrification needs found in most developing countries. |
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